Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is essential for neuronal survival, differentiation, and plasticity. In epilepsy, BDNF exhibits a dual role, exerting both antiepileptic and pro-epileptic effects. The cleavage of its main receptor, full-length tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB-FL), was suggested to occur in status epilepticus (SE) in vitro. Moreover, under excitotoxic conditions, TrkB-FL was found to b...
There is renewed interest in psychedelics, such as psilocybin, as therapies for multiple difficult-to-treat psychiatric disorders. Even though psychedelics can induce highly pleasant or aversive experiences, depending on multiple personal and environmental factors, there is little research into how such experiences impact post-acute mood-altering actions. Here we aimed at offsetting this gap. First, we tested w...
In Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyloid β (Aβ)-triggered cleavage of TrkB-FL impairs brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, thereby compromising neuronal survival, differentiation, and synaptic transmission and plasticity. Using cerebrospinal fluid and postmortem human brain samples, we show that TrkB-FL cleavage occurs from the early stages of the disease and increases as a function of pathology seve...
Reductionistic research on depressive disorders has been hampered by the limitations of animal models. Recently, it has been hypothesized that neuroinflammation is a key player in depressive disorders. The Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat is an often-used animal model of depression, but no information so far exists on its neuroinflammatory profile. As such, we compared male young adult WKY rats to Wistar (WS) controls, w...
Rett Syndrome is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder (RTT; OMIM#312750) associated to MECP2 mutations. MeCP2 dysfunction is seen as one cause for the deficiencies found in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, since BDNF is one of the genes under MeCP2 jurisdiction. BDNF signaling is also dependent on the proper function of the adenosinergic system. Indeed, both BDNF signaling and the adenosin...
Rett Syndrome (RTT) is a rare, genetically caused neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 1:10000-15000 girls worldwide. It is characterized by an apparently normal development up to 6 to 18 months of age, followed by a regression phase, in which there is a loss of acquired abilities. During the progression of this disease, which takes place over four distinct stages, the following stand out: app...
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, which is neuropathologically characterized by extracellular senile plaques containing amyloid-β and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Previous studies have suggested a role for septin (SEPTIN) protein family members in AD-associated cellular processes. Here, we elucidated the potential role of presynap...
Chronic adolescent cannabinoid receptor agonist exposure has been shown to lead to persistent increases in depressive-like behaviors. This has been a key obstacle to the development of cannabinoid-based therapeutics. However, most of the published work has been performed with only three compounds, namely Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, CP55,940 and WIN55,212-2. Hypothesizing that different compounds may lead to distin...
The increasing consumption of sugar and fat seen over the last decades and the consequent overweight and obesity, were recently linked with a deleterious effect on cognition and synaptic function. A major question, which remains to be clarified, is whether obesity in the elderly is an additional risk factor for cognitive impairment. We aimed at unravelling the impact of a chronic high caloric diet (HCD) on memo...